Blue Screen
by Little Miss Assassin
Summary: After years of running and hiding Gilda thinks that when S.H.I.E.L.D offers her a clean slate in exchange for her assistance, it doesn't seem worth it. She's proud of the things she has done and she doesn't want to risk becoming one of S.H.I.E.L.D's new pets. But is saying no really worth the risk?
1. Pawn Shop Mishap

**Hi guys! Okay, I'll admit I've already posted this story once but after reading it over I decided I needed to start from scratch. Not everything is going to change but the time line is gonna be a bit more... Flexible than last time.**

**I also apologize for not updating often last time I had this story up. I was caught in one of the worst times of my high school experience and now since I hit summer break I decided to treat you guys and post this!**

**Writing has been proved difficult lately so if some things seem wonky or it takes me a long time to update I am _so sorry. _I'm going to try to have a friend or two help me when I fall into a rut so hopefully the 'updating rarely' thing doesn't happen to me any time soon.**

**I'm gonna let you guys go on and start reading the story so..**

**Enjoy~**

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It's said that humans only use 10% of their brain power. Now whether that's true or not no one knows, some say we use every part of our brains so clearly we use all the brain power. Others believe that no we don't, that our memories can be easily manipulated and visual recognition is only 62% accurate therefore we have the potential to become stronger. (Mentally that is.)

Now what if you _could _use all of your brain power? What do you think could happen? Some say a perfect memory, telekinetic abilities, the possibilities are endless!

But having these sort of abilities are dangerous. People would hunt you down and use you for their selfish needs, you could be considered a threat to your own country, some people would be scared to approach you if they knew.

So I'm asking, as a woman who was cursed with this herself, if you're reading this and you _know_ you have special abilities like I do _**keep them hidden. **_Hide it from your family, friends, everyone and anyone. I don't want you to live the same life I did.

**Charlie's Gold and Silver Pawn Shop**

**October 15**

**8:25 am**

Rain beat harshly against the windows of the pawn shop, it's been raining for days and almost no one dared to leave their houses unless they had work. Gilda was one of those people. Only one working this shift, everyone else either sick or taking a vacation day just so they could avoid the rain as well.

The bell rung quietly above her head as she walked into the empty shop, pulling down her hood and shaking her blond hair to rid it of any water. She quickly flipped the light switch and the shop seemed to come to life. The TVs' that lined up one of the walls flickered to life and showed the channel 16 news, the glass cases were glowing from the sudden light, and the speakers on the ceiling played soft jazz music.

It was heaven to her. Probably because of all the old weapons, cool memorabilia, and video games, but it was still heaven.

Gilda pulled out a hat from behind the counter, the shops logo embroidered in metallic red, and placed it on her head. With how short her hair was and how much the hat covered her hair she could probably pass off for a guy if she really wanted to. She laughed at that thought and grabbed a rag next, first thing she did every morning was wipe down the glass cases.

That's how her day went, cleaning the cases, shining the jewelry, fixing the occasional computer or game station, only a handful of people actually came in so it was an easy day for her. About half-way into her shift she glanced over to the security camera in the corner and frowned, the device pointed directly at her. Gilda _knew_ that camera should have been pointed towards the door, something was wrong. She kept her eyes on the camera as she slowly walked around the perimeter of the store, the security camera followed. When she reached the cameras blind spot she realized the camera across from it was now following her. Oh yeah, something was up alright.

Making sure that no one was coming into the store, Gilda quickly flipped the sign to 'Closed' and made a dash for the counter. There was a hollowed out section where employs put their things or sometimes a little stool when someone needs to sit down. It was big enough for a person to sit in and also avoid the cameras so naturally Gilda sat in there when she was on her break. She grabbed her bag and pulled it close, grabbing her laptop and a flash drive out of the main pocket.

Gilda turned on the computer and immediately hacked into the shop's security system. She knew someone hacked into the system so she just had to find the trail they left. Their own little coded footprints. It took her about ten minutes until she finally found who had hacked in.

"Shield? Who in the holy hell is…" She didn't finish her sentence because things finally started to click. Shield was an organization that Gilda had run into Shield agents earlier in her life and was tempted to hack into their system multiple times, but she knew what Shield could do. She waited until she was positive she wouldn't get caught. She's been able to hack most of her life. Banking accounts, school records, even criminal records if she wanted to. But she was still hesitant on hacking into Shield. She's seen what Shield can do if they consider someone a threat and she didn't want to find herself on that list any time soon. Her hacking skills have improved a lot since then so she decided, screw it, lets see why Shield is hacking into the shop's security system.

Will she regret it? Most likely.

Will there be horrible consequences if she gets caught? Most definitely.

Will she actually get caught? Possibly. But she wasn't sure.

Now hacking into Shield was a lot harder than hacking into a simple security system. She had to bypass several firewalls, clean her trail, clean her trail _again_, then she was finally in. After that it was simply getting the right passwords and choosing the right files. When searching keywords she only found one find that contained the pawn shops name and that was her own. Gilda Conwell in bold white letters with her driver's license picture beside it. Her glasses were broken that day so she had to wear contacts and she hated wearing contacts. They always made her eyes feel funny and they didn't work as well as her normal glasses.

She hesitated for a moment before clicking her file and that's when things started to unsettle her. Shield had absolutely everything on her. Her birth certificate, highschool transcript, anything and everything she's done was on her screen and it was _terrifying_. After getting over the initial shock she continued reading over the file and memorized every word. Turns out Shield didn't view her as a threat but they've kept her under surveillance since she was in highschool. "Well I guess my…. abilities would stick me on their radar." She muttered to herself as she continued reading.

Gilda didn't know how long she had read her file (two hours, five minutes and thirteen seconds) but there was a knock on the shop door that distracted her. She turned off the computer and stood up, if she had read any more she would have learned that Shield would act the moment they found out she hacked into their system.

There was a man in a suit standing in front of the door, a black umbrella keeping the water off him. Gilda smiled brightly at the stranger and walked over, flipping the sign back to 'Open' and opening the door. "I'm so sorry, Sir. I was a bit distracted with updating our stock files." She lied smoothly. The man chuckled softly and walked into the store, the bell ringing softly above him. He stood a few inches taller than her and had a familiar look she couldn't shake. _Business suit, probably a high paying job._ She looked over his facial features next, noting the clean-cut hairstyle. _Circles under his eyes, signs of stress. Social or work; Unknown. Maybe both._ She noticed his watch last. _Wrong hour but right minute. Recently traveled and hasn't bothered to change the time yet… This guy is interesting._

"Don't worry about it." He held his hand out to her, "My name is Phil Coulson and I actually wanted to talk to you about a few things." Gilda shook his hand and kept her smile up, refusing to react when she remembered seeing Phil's name in some of the files. _Just keep cool. He doesn't know how to make you glitch so you're just fine…_ God she hoped he didn't know how to make her glitch.

"Sure! Lets go to the back so people think we're closed and no one will interrupt." Her hand dropped back to her side as she directed him to the back of the pawn shop. She placed her hat on top of the counter as they walked passed it and her hair fell into its usual messy style.

The back of the pawn shop was like a large storage closet and that's exactly what it was. Large boxes lines the walls, stacked on shelves, each other, there was a pyramid of boxes in one of the corners. Gilda and Coulson reached a table near the very back and Gilda sat down, Coulson remained standing. "You want anything to drink? I don't have much but I figured it would be nice to offer." She asked. He shook his head and gave her a faint smile.

"No thank you, I really just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes ." He told her. Gilda's eyebrows shot up, noticing she never told him her last name. _He does his homework, that's for sure_.

"Shoot. My shift doesn't end for a couple more hours so we have a little time." She said. Coulson nodded and pulled out a folder that Gilda didn't even notice he was carrying. He sat it down in front of her and she just glared at the folder. Her name was printed in bold letters and her picture was paper clipped to the front. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"Read it."

Gilda frowned and opened the folder, skimming the pages with a bored expression since she had read all of this on her laptop. She stopped at the same place she did on her laptop and looked up to Coulson. "We both know I've read this. That's why you're here ain't it? Because I hacked into Shield to see what you got on me and you guys got pissy. So why did you hand this to me?"

"Just keep reading ."

Gilda huffed but she continued to read. She started getting a sickly feeling to her stomach as she read, the words _**potential threat**_, _**interrogation**_, and _**extracting information by any means**_ came up often in the last few pages. Her hands started to shake and she ran her hands through her hair, laughing quietly.

"Well shit…" She closed the file and pushed it away from her. She flipped the folder to the other side for good measure, looking at her name and picture on the front made her blood boil. In anger, hatred, or some unknown emotion she wasn't sure. "I hacked into Shield so now you're going to take me away right? Glitch girl finally got caught in the act and now she'd gonna be locked up forever _right_?" She snarled. It took almost all of her will power not to tackle Coulson right then when he chuckled and picked up the folder.

"Quite the opposite, actually. We would like to use your… abilities in exchange for a clean slate."

"Pardon me?"

"Gilda, we know all the mistakes you've made through out the years. Stealing money from people's' bank account without them ever noticing, changing your best friend criminal record so he would get out of jail four years early, even deleting yourself from existence a couple of times to avoid suspicion. Shield has kept an eye on you for _years _and we are willing to make a deal. Help us with your mental ability and we'll clear your file. You'll no longer be considered a threat to Shield or the Government. You'll be seen as an ally." He smiled faintly as he saw the young woman become more infuriated with him.

"I… I don't…" Her voice wavered. Sighing softly, Gilda shoved her hand into one of her pockets and pulled out a small contraption. It looked like a remote or sorts but upon further inspection Coulson realized it was a mechanical beetle. She pressed the button on the top of its head and placed it on the table, watching it scurry around for a couple of moments before she smiled. "BT activate defense mechanism 744952." The beetles eyes flashed red before a loud wine pierced the air and its wings opened, filling the room with smoke. Coulson covered his ears and started to cough, the dense smoke making it impossible to navigate through the room.

Using the diversion to her advantage, Gilda picked up BT and placed him back into her pocket then ran out of the back room. She quickly picked up her laptop and bag and ran through the front door of the shop. She could hear screaming behind her, more like commands being shouted, and it wasn't long before she heard multiple foot steps behind her and a black van in the corner of her vision. She cursed under her breath and ran across the street, jumping over the hood of the VW Beetle that nearly ran her over. _That's what I get for jaywalking.._ She snickered quietly.

Gilda noticed the woods near her apartment building were close and she made a sharp turn, running into the dense woods. She could hear the confused chatter of the agents that followed her but she continued to run until she heard them no more. The apartment building was in her sight and she let out a relived sigh. Not even bothering with her drenched hair and jacket, she made sure the computer was dry and unharmed. It was.

"Thank the gods I got away from them.." She muttered to herself as she closed the door.

"Not quite. Nice try though." The unknown voice made her look up from the laptop and she frowned. Director Fury standing in front of her with her friend Jackson. He looked unharmed aside from the black eye that was almost covered by in bangs and the nervous smile.

"Jackie?!"

"Hey Gilda."

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**Yeah we still got Jackson in the story and that lovable ginger isn't leaving any time soon! I hope to update in the next few day and I'd just like to say thanks for putting up with me and all my problems.**

**R&R**


	2. Agent Harrod

**Hello and welcome!**

**So my birthday is less than ten days away (June 25th) and I'm really excited. I'm trying to get another chapter up by then and I'm sure I will. (Fingers crossed.) I would really like it if you guys review the story so you can tell me anything you're wondering or if I made a mistake anywhere. Well enough with bothering you guys, on with chapter two of Blue Screen!**

**Hope you enjoy~**

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Recap:

_ "Thank the gods I got away from them.." She muttered to herself as she closed the door._

_ "Not quite. Nice try though." The unknown voice made her look up from the laptop and she frowned. Director Fury standing in front of her with her friend Jackson. He looked unharmed aside from the black eye that was almost covered by in bangs and the nervous smile._

_ "Jackie?!" She gawked. He waved slightly and nodded. _

_ "Hey Gilda."_

**Apartment Complex; A11**

**October 15**

**14:55 pm**

The room was filled with an uncomfortable tension, Gilda and Fury have glared at each other for about five minutes. Jackson sat on the couch and looked between the two, this was getting ridiculous. Jackson pushed himself up from the couch and ignored the throbbing in his right eye.

"Gilda." He snapped his fingers in front of her face. She didn't even blink. Jackson tried a few more times before ultimately giving up.

"Jackson I believe I _broke _your friend." Fury gave the redhead a smug smirk. Gilda was still motionless but it didn't bother Jackson. He's seen Gilda act like this, she wasn't broken, no, she's _calculating_. She is in one of her more vulnerable states but it gave Jackson the opportunity to help Fury. He hated Director Fury there was no doubt about that but the sooner he sees what Gilda can do the quicker he'll leave.

"Director Fury... You said you're here to see Gilda's abilities up close correct?"

"Yes... That is one of the reasons." Jackson ignored the second part of Fury's statement as he smiled.

"Ask her a question. Any question but you need to ask it like sh-" Jackson was cut off by Gilda slapping the back of his head and frowning. Guess she'd done calculating things.

"Jackie!" She snarled. "Don't you dare finish that statement! He knows what's in my file, he can figure out my abilities himself." Her attention was turned to Fury and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You said there was another reason for you being here. What is it?"

"Well you already spoke to Coulson, correct?"

She smirked faintly and nodded. "Before I nearly made him deaf and sent him into a coughing fit, yes."

"Then you know exactly why I'm here." Fury narrowed his eyes when Gilda frowned.

"Humor me."

Fury ran a hand down his face and let out an irritated sigh. "Alright... We need your help. Shield has some of the most intelligent people in the country working for us and even they have... hit a bit of a roadblock in their research. That's where we need you." He explained. "We've had an eye on you for quite some time and have kept our distance. But now we need your help by doing what you do best."

"Which would be?" She questioned.

"Using your head."

Jackson placed a hand on Gilda's shoulder and frowned. He stood about nine inches taller than her so she had to look up to see his eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea, Gills." He murmured. Gilda gave him a pointed look.

"You think? I don't have a death wish."

"I'm sorry Director Fury," Jackson turned to Fury. "We both think it's a bad idea for her to help. She has enough enemies and helping you might give her new ones."

Jackson didn't like the idea of Gilda helping Shield. It might be the protective older brother syndrome, though they're not related, he's been a bit protective since Gilda gained some dangerous enemies back in 2012. Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

**Apartment Complex; A11**

**December 23, 2012**

**19:16 pm**

_ SCAT has a new glitch to take care of._

That's all that was written down on the crumpled sticky note. Jackson went to Gilda's apartment for their Christmas party and that's where he found the note. The apartment was in shambles, a window broke, couch was upside down, there was also a red liquid staining the carpet. Jackson prayed it wasn't blood.

Looking through the wreckage of the apartment he found that her phone was gone but her laptop was still here. "Oh thank god." He muttered. Gilda had a tracker placed in her phone and her laptop was the only thing that could track it, she never leaves without her laptop so Gilda planted it in a spot only Jackson would look for it.

Under his Xbox.

He flipped the couch right side up and sat down with the laptop in his lap. Gilda showed him what to do if he ever needed to track her so it didn't take long for him to find her. Monroe Park. There was an abandoned house there, it was standing there long before Gilda or Jackson moved into the town. Rumors went around that the local gangs met there and everything. Gilda nor Jackson went within ten yards of the building.

He went through the trashed apartment and found Gilda's pistol. Seems like a good birthday present after all. Jackson closed her computer back in its hiding spot and he walked out of the house.

Jackson is getting his friend back even if it kills him.

**Monroe Park**

**December 23, 2012**

**19:56**

Jackson pulled up close to the house, in an ally near the park. He kept the gun close to his side as he walked towards the house. The closer he got the easier he could hear voices. At least two men and one female. The female sounded like Gilda so he took it as a good sign. He poked his head up and looked through one of the broken windows. There were actually four men and they were circled around the female, the long blond hair made it clear it was Gilda.

"Stop... Stop asking.." Gilda moaned, letting her head fall forward. She's been here for around two hour, the ropes binding her hands chaffed her wrists and she felt blood run down her hands and onto her finger tips. The men caught her off guard, tying her up while she was baking some Christmas cookies for her and Jackson. _Jackson! _Oh god, he's been to the apartment by now she knows it. If he does something stupid she's going to kick his ass when she gets out of these binds.

Gilda was pulled out of her thoughts when one of the guys grabbed her hair and forced her to look up. He was the sorter of the four men, wire-framed glasses that almost matched hers and shaggy brown hair. He was the leader, she quickly learned, his name was Simon if she was correct. She always is.

"Quiet!" He hissed. "Just tell us how you know all this stuff then you can go." Gilda narrowed her eyes and threw her head forward, head butting the guy. There was a sharp crack that signaled she broke his nose. "You bitch!" Simon let go of her hair and smack her. It stung her cheek and she felt blood pooling in her mouth.

The twin blonds that stood behind Simon, Cameron and Andrew, shot each other a glance and tapped Simons shoulder to get his attention.

"Sir," Cameron started.

"It's clear she's not talking." Andrew continued.

"So we believe you're going to need a new tactic to get information out of her." Cameron finished. How they swapped sentences like that confused Gilda but she also found it amusing. Simon stood back up and raised an eyebrow.

"Well what do you have mind?" He watched the twins look at each other and smirk.

"Quite a few things actually." Andrew started.

"But we'll need some things that this place clearly doesn't provide." Cameron finished. Andrew pulled out a small note pad and wrote a few things down then handed it over to Simon. He read over the paper and chuckled.

"You two are a couple sadistic bastards you know that?"

"We know!" They said in unison.

"Alright we'll try it your way." Simon walked over to the man who stood by the door. He had a military style hair cut and was covered in tattoos. He was the muscle of the group. "Come on, Tobias. We gotta get some things for the twins." Tobias only nodded and followed Simon out of the house. Quiet guy too.

Jackson glanced over his shoulder and saw a car pulling out, Simon and Tobias leaving the park to get whatever the twins had asked for. The twins seemed the weakest so Jackson took this as an opportunity. He stepped inside the house, his footsteps silent as he slowly got closer to Gilda.

"So how do you do it?" Gilda suddenly asked. Jackson stopped dead in his tracks so he could listen. The twins turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" They asked in unison again.

"That. The matching thingy, how do you do it?" She smiled, seeming genuinely interested.

"We're special." Cameron stated.

"Like you."

"But under different circumstances."

"Basically, yes." Andrew finished. This peaked Gilda's curiosity.

"Like a mental connection?" She tilted her head, wincing when it popped.

"Yes." They nodded. "But its both mental and physical." This made Gilda smile. She didn't ask anymore questions but started dragging her fingers on the floor. As Jackson watched her he realized she was writing something down with the blood that dripped onto her fingers. _Shoot Shoulder. No Kill. _She glanced behind her and locked eyes with Jackson, nodding slightly. He mirrored her and pulled up the gun. Aiming for Cameron, he shot and a bulled lodged itself into Cameron's shoulder. Both twins screamed in pain and held their shoulders. While Cameron was still bleeding Andrew was clearly in the same pain.

"Sorry guys.." Gilda sighed as Jackson ran over and pulled Gilda up. He undid the binds and she rubbed her wrists a bit. "Maybe next time." Waiting a couple of minutes for the feeling to return to her legs, her and Jackson ran out of the house and made it back to the car without any trouble. Jackson looked over to Gilda for answers but she kept her gaze on her lap. He never mentioned it again unless she did first.

Since then she's kept her hair short

**Apartment Complex; A11**

**October 15**

**15:12 pm**

Director Fury sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry but Gilda doesn't have a choice. It's either cooperate and help us or we let your enemies know your location." He help up a hand before Gilda or Jackson could retaliate. "Gilda is going to be safe with us and when she's done it'll be like we were never here."

"So you're basically blackmailing me into help you?"

"It seems that way doesn't it?"

Gilda looked over to Jackson who looked like he was about to smack the eye patch right off of Fury's face. She tugged on the sleeve of Jackson's jacket and shook her head. She couldn't risk getting Jackson hurt and saying yes to Fury seemed like the only way she could keep him safe.

"Two days." She said firmly.

"Excuse me?" Fury asked, narrowing his eyes erm... eye.

"Give me two days to think about it. I'll let you know if I'm willing to help you or not." She ignored Jackson's glare. Fury wait for a moment before speaking.

"You have until tomorrow." He told her. The look he gave stopped Gilda from protesting.

"Fine... What do you need help with anyway?" She ran a hand down her face and groaned when Fury handed her a file. Great, more reading. Jackson took the file before Gilda had the chance. He skimmed over it and looked back up to Fury, eyes wide.

"Sir, I really don't think this is a good idea..." Jackson said. Gilda knew Jackson had been an agent for Shield for some time. Around five years or so. It was clear he knew what she needed to help Fury with and it was also clear it was a bad idea in his eyes.

"Agent Harrod." Jackson quickly shut up. "I am not the only one who believes it is a good idea to get Gilda's help. Your opinion won't be able to stop her from helping if she agrees to." His eyes landed on Gilda. "And I'm sure she'll agree to it."

Jackson lowered his head a bit and gave Gilda the file. Fury walked towards the door and glanced back, "Tomorrow, Gilda." With that he closed the door with a soft click. Gilda let out a loud sigh when he left and she sat down on the couch, looking through the file.

"Well this is... Interesting." She muttered as she read. Jackson sat down beside her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"It's not a good idea, Gills. This thing is dangerous and you're going to get hurt." Gilda scoffed and tossed the open file on the table in front of them.

"I'll be fine, Jackie. Sheesh... And maybe helping Shield will get SCAT off our backs. Who knows?" She offered. Jackson didn't respond, his attention was on the open file on the table. In the middle of the file was a picture of a glowing blue cube. He's only seen it in person once before and it was... unnatural. It gave him a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah... Who knows."

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**Hope you guys liked it! **

**See you next time!**

**R&R**


	3. Wayward Cafe

**Whoopsie it looks like I vanished for a bit. Sorry about that! I've been busy with birthday stuff and a lot of drama with getting my industrial piercing (don't ask) so I'm updating now, I'm sorry it took me so long you guys.**

**Now I know I haven't gotten a lot of activity on this fic but now that we're starting up the actual plot it's gonna be a lot more interesting and well written. I _really _want y'all's opinions about things like what you think I should do with Jackson, how far should I follow the movies after the avengers, that kind of stuff. So please review/pm to tell me what you think of the story and what I could add in/take out!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my good friend who helped to get me motivated into writing again; Brownie**

**Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter~!**

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Recap:

_ "I'll be fine, Jackie. Sheesh... And maybe helping Shield will get SCAT off our backs. Who knows?" She offered. Jackson didn't respond, his attention was on the open file on the table. In the middle of the file was a picture of a glowing blue cube. He's only seen it in person once before and it was... unnatural. It gave him a bad feeling in his stomach._

_ "Yeah... Who knows."_

**Wayward Cafe**

**October 16**

**10:23 am**

Jackson walked over to a small circular table where Gilda sat, a Muad'dib Latte in one hand and a Exterminate Mocha in the other. "For you, love~" He teased, handing her the latte. His cousin Charlie worked at the cafe just for the fact it was so geeky and she loved all the references the place had. The drinks all had names related to a show, movie, game, ect. The walls were covered in retro game posters and movie memorabilia. Even the table were nerdy, a few looking like the Death Star and others having devils traps etched in the wood tabletop. Yeah, it was a nerd paradise.

"Thank you my dear~" Gilda smiled and took a drink of the latte. The taste of apples, cinnamon, and ginger immediately woke her up from her sleepy stupor. She got about twenty minutes of sleep the previous night, the rest of her time was used by reading the file Fury had given her and doing some independent research on the cube. The file was tucked between her laptop and notebook in her laptop bag.

"I still can't believe you're agreeing to this.." Jackson finally said, glancing down to the gallifreyan writing that was etched onto the table. He spent most of the night trying to talk her out of it but Gilda was stubborn, how he's still friends with her shocks him at times.

"I'm doing it because I hate admitting that I need help but I _need _help," She slammed the cardboard cup on the table and sighed. "This thing sounds interesting anyway, I'm curious to see how it all goes.." You could hear the frustration in her voice but her smile made it seem like all was right with the world.

They kept silent after that, drinking their fandom related coffee and waiting for whoever Fury was going to send to get Gilda's answer. The more she waited the more she began to grow irritated and moody, a teenage girl commented on the Skyrim patch sewed on Gilda's bag and she almost screamed at her for being to loud, the girl even speak above a whisper. Gilda slammed her head on the table and groaned, Jackson slowly pulling the coffee from her hands. She's had enough caffeine.

The door chimed a few more times before she finally had enough of it. It wasn't the fact the bell was annoying after chiming 15 times, it was more of the fact after 15 chimes the Shield agent has yet to show up. "Charlie, I'm breaking that damn bell!" Gilda called out, pushing herself from the table and stomping over to the door. There was a sarcastic protest from the barista and she ignored it. She ripped the door open so the bell chimed one more time but as she reached for it a stranger grabbed her wrist before she even touched it.

"I doubt it'd be a good idea for you to take your frustrations out on a bell but that's just my opinion." The strangers lips quirked into a smile as Gilda turned to her. Ginger hair that could compare to Jackson's fell to the woman's shoulders and her eyes seemed to calculate every action Gilda made. _Agent Romanoff _was the name that came to mind. Natasha let go of Gilda's wrist and she smiled, "Shall we have a seat, Gilda?"

"Sure." She replied tensely, walking back over to her seat as Natasha sat across from her. Jackson moved to the seat beside Gilda once he noticed Natasha entered the cafe.

"So I'm guessing you want to get straight to the point?" Natasha asked, folding her hands on the table and raising an eyebrow at the blond. Gilda pulled out the file from her bag and handed it to her, nodding.

"Yup. I looked through the file last night and actually found it worth looking into..." She hesitated before looking at Natasha again. "You guys have yourselves a dangerous thing, Natasha. Howard Stark should have left it in the ocean where it belongs." Natasha was about to ask her how she knew how Shield obtained it but quickly remembered Gilda's research skills was one of the reasons they are asking for her help in the first place.

"You know you're not the first person to say that." She thought back to what Fury told her Steve said to him before leaving the gym.

"I'm sure I'm not." Gilda laughed a bit, it was the first sign of her relaxing since Natasha showed up. "But before I agree I need to ask; how long do you think it will take until you have all the information you need?"

"We're not sure." She admitted, "If you join us for this then I'm sure it'll go a lot faster and you'll be free to continue what ever you were previously doing."

Gilda smiled a bit and nodded. "We'll I'm happy to say I agree to helping Shield with their research on the tesseract. When do I start?" It was Natasha's turn to smile as she stood up from the table, phone now in hand.

"Right now." She motioned for Gilda and Jackson to stand up as she started to walk outside.

"Can't back out now, Gills." Jackson murmured once Natasha was ahead of them. Gilda nodded, of course she knew this. Agreeing to this made her feel like she made a deal with the devil and the sick feeling in her stomach didn't help the though. Natasha stopped walking and glanced back to them. "The van should be here in a moment, I'm glad you already have your laptop with you, is there anything else you're going to need?"

Gilda immediately shook her head, her computer, notebook, and phone were the only things she was going to need for this. Jackson handed her the latte again and she took a sip, the drink was cold now but that seemed like exactly what she needed right now.

**Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Facility**

**October 16**

**20:56**

It took hours for the black SUV to reach the building Gilda was going to be working at, in that time she replayed part Assassin's Creed III on her computer, made paper cranes with paper from the file Fury gave her, and drew intricate designs on Jackson's arm in sharpie. Needless to say Gilda was actually relived when the van finally stopped. She slipped her laptop back into the bag and was the first one out of the van, in her haste she gracefully fell onto the dusty ground and unclasped one of her suspender straps.

Jackson laughed at her stupidity and helped her stand back up, brushing the dirt off the back of her white button-up and clasping her suspender strap back in its place. "You need to be more careful, Gills." He said as if scolding a young child. Gilda just rolled her eyes and shoved his chest lightly.

"Oh shut up." She smiled up at him. Natasha shook her head at the two and guided them to the entrance where Fury was standing. Gilda could have sworn he had a smug look on his face but once he saw her looking at him he immediately went back to scowling.

"I'm glad you could join us, Gilda." Oh yeah, he might not seem smug but the tone of his voice said it all. She gave him a sickly sweet smile.

"Glad I could join you, Patches." She could see his good eye twitch just a bit.

"I'd prefer you not use that name."

"And I'd prefer not being here, I guess we don't all get what we want." Fury was about to retaliate but sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's late," He ignored Jackson and Gilda muttering 'Tell me about it' in unison. "So Agent Romanoff is going to show you to the room you'll be staying at here since your home is to far from here. You'll be debriefed on what you'll actually be doing here tomorrow morning, is that understood?" He gave her a look that made her not want to ask anything, but she need the answer to something.

"Yes but I have a question."

"What is it?"

Gilda glanced over to Jackson who squeezed her upper arm gently for reassurance. "Does anyone else besides you and Natasha know about my... Glitch?" She noticed him smirk faintly as he shook his head.

"No, Gilda. No one else knows of your 'glitch'. According to every other person here you're just another scientist working on the Tesseract." He explained. Fury knew Gilda was going to ask about her glitch, it only made sense. Its a dangerous glitch as well so that's why so few people know of it there. The only others that knew were Agent Coulson and Barton but neither of them were at the facility at the moment so he didn't mention them.

"Thank you, Fury." She smiled. Jackson and Gilda turned to Natasha who only nodded and started walking to the room they'll be sharing.

The bedroom was two floors under the main floor and three above where Gilda was going to work. There was a single bed on each side of the room, two dressers, basically two of everything. It reminded Gilda of her college dorm room except everything was white. She sat her bag on the bed and turned to Natasha before she left them for the night.

"Two questions. One; can I make this room more colorful? I feel like I'm in a hospital. Two; Are you going to be staying here while Jackson and I are here?" Natasha smiled lightly at Gilda.

"Yes you can make the room more colorful. But no to your second question, I'm going on a mission in a couple of days. My partner, Clint, he'll be here while you're here. If you have any questions after tomorrow you'll have to ask him, alright?" Gilda nodded and Natasha waved. "Good night Gilda, Jackson." She turned and walked out of the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

Gilda fell back on her bed and pushed her laptop bag to the foot of the bed.

"I still can't believe you agreed to this." Jackson said, quickly snapping Gilda from her thoughts. She turned to face him and he was on his side, arm propping him up as he looked at her.

"I still can't believe you demanded to come along." She retaliated. It was supposed to be only Gilda coming here but Jackson was so outraged by the thought of her going here alone he demanded to come as her 'Shield agent protector'. Gilda didn't want him to come at first but now she was glad that he did, she probably wouldn't be doing as well as she is now without him there with her. "Thanks by the way... I don't think I could do this without you."

"You're stuck with me, Gills. You've known this since middle school." He rolled onto his back and turned his head to her. "Go on and get some rest, okay? Bee and I are gonna be here and we're getting home soon, don't worry about that."

She nodded and pulled out the small mechanical beetle from her pocket, placing it on the nightstand beside her bed. Jackson turned the light off and Gilda just stared at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how long she was staring into darkness (one hour, fifteen minutes, and thirty two seconds) until she heard Jackson mumbled quietly.

"Dammit Gilda I can hear the gears running in your head now go the hell to sleep."

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**See you guys next time!**

**R&R**


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